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Minor NFL Transactions: 10/1/24

October 1st, 2024 at 6:41pm CST by Ely Allen

Tuesday’s minor NFL transactions:

Buffalo Bills

  • Signed (off Falcons’ practice squad): DT Zion Logue

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed (off Commanders’ practice squad): LB Jalen Graham

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Robbins’ release today marks the end of what was supposed to be the continuation of the battle for the punter position in Cincinnati, setting the table for Ryan Rehkow to continue his job as the primary punter for the Bengals. Robbins was activated from injured reserve yesterday, but his stint on the active roster ends after only one day. It’s an interesting move after the team dedicated one of their eight IR activations for the season on Robbins before the season began.

Colts LB E.J. Speed A Trade Candidate?

September 29th, 2024 at 11:48am CST by Rory Parks

The Colts’ plans to have linebacker Shaquille Leonard anchor the middle of their defense for the long haul took a sour turn when Leonard proved unable to return to form following offseason back surgery in 2022. Indianapolis ultimately waived Leonard last November, and one of the reasons the team felt comfortable in making that move was the presence of fellow ‘backer E.J. Speed.

Speed, 29, was selected by the Colts in the fifth round of the 2019 draft, and he operated primarily as a special-teamer over the first three years of his career. As a result of Leonard’s health issues, Speed began to see more defensive snaps in 2022, and his performance that season was enough to earn him a two-year, $8MM contract to stay in Indy.

In 2023, Speed started a career-high 11 games and appeared in two-thirds of the Colts’ defensive snaps. HIs 65.0 overall grade from Pro Football Focus was solid, if unspectacular, though he scored very highly in terms of run defense and posted 102 total tackles. Through the first three games of 2024, he has become a true every-down linebacker, enjoying a 99% snap share and recording 34 total stops.

PFF is still not enamored with his work, as the site presently considers him the 46th-best LB out of 75 qualifiers in 2024. The usual small sample size caveats apply here, but the Colts’ defense as a whole has underperformed, ranking 31st in terms of total defense (though they have yielded fewer points than the raw yardage would suggest and are currently 14th in points allowed per game). 

Between the early struggles of second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson and the porousness of the defense, Indianapolis has gotten off to a 1-2 start. And, as Speed is a veteran on an expiring contract, ESPN’s Dan Graziano believes the Tarleton State product is a “name to watch” at the trade deadline if the Colts fall out of contention (subscription required).

Any number of teams would be happy to plug a tackle machine into the second level of their defense at the deadline, even if Speed is far from the complete defender that Leonard was in his prime. Graziano specifically names the Bills, Patriots, and Raiders as possible landing spots, although New England and Las Vegas appear as if they might be deadline sellers as opposed to buyers as of the time of this writing.

As Mike Chappell of Fox 59 observes, Speed has posted at least 10 tackles in seven straight games, dating back to last year. That is the longest such streak for a Colts player since at least 1987, and the second-longest streak for any NFL player since that same year.

Bills LB Terrel Bernard Expected To Avoid IR

September 28th, 2024 at 8:08pm CST by Ben Levine

SEPTEMBER 28: Bernard expressed a desire to return to action in time for Week 5 (h/t Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic). He has already been ruled out for tomorrow’s contest, but by not going on IR he is eligible to suit up at any time. Bernard’s status over the coming days will be worth monitoring.

SEPTEMBER 21: Some good news on the Terrel Bernard front. The Bills linebacker isn’t expected to land on injured reserve, according to Sean McDermott (per Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic). While the head coach admitted that he can’t say anything definitive, he felt the Bills wouldn’t have “to go in that direction.”

[RELATED: Bills LB Terrel Bernard Suffers Pec Strain]

“Don’t know anything else right now,” McDermott said when asked about a potential IR stint for Bernard (via ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg). “I don’t think so, but still I can’t make that statement with 100% certainty right now. But I feel like we won’t have to go that direction.”

Bernard exited Buffalo’s Week 2 win over Miami after getting into only 14 defensive snaps. The linebacker fortunately avoided the worst-case scenario, with his pectoral injury proving to be a strain vs. a full tear. McDermott later confirmed that Bernard would miss multiple weeks. The team was afforded some extra time to determine any IR machinations considering their 11-day break between Week 2 and Week 3. Before today’s encouraging news, Bernard had already been ruled out for Monday night.

The former third-round pick had a breakout campaign in 2023, finishing with 143 tackles and 6.5 sacks. The Bills intended to be especially reliant on the third-year pro in 2024, as Matt Milano is sidelined indefinitely with a biceps tear. A four-week absence for Bernard would stress the team’s LB depth, although it sounds like they’ll only have to temporarily deal with a depleted depth chart.

Former seventh-round pick Baylon Spector stepped in for Bernard last Thursday and ended up playing a position-high 62 snaps while compiling 10 tackles. Dorian Williams will also help to soak up many of the snaps at linebacker, with the likes of Nicholas Morrow and Joe Andreessen representing the team’s depth at the position.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/26/24

September 26th, 2024 at 6:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s practice squad moves:

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

  • Signed: LB Abraham Beauplan

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: OL Braeden Daniels

Miami Dolphins

Fortson will make his way back to Missouri, doing so after the Dolphins released him in August. Fortson combined to catch 14 passes for 155 yards and four touchdowns during the 2021 and ’22 Chiefs seasons, but he spent the 2023 campaign on IR. An effort to latch on in Miami did not pan out, but the Chiefs have the reserve tight end back as insurance. Fortson, 28, initially caught on with the Chiefs as a 2019 UDFA.

Ingram will fill the same purpose, switching spots with Kareem Hunt, whom the Chiefs bumped up to their 53-man roster this week. Waiving Ingram to make room for the Hunt reunion, Kansas City circled back to the former Arizona draftee. Ingram joins UDFA Emani Bailey as RBs on the Chiefs’ P-squad.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/26/24

September 26th, 2024 at 3:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Cowboys

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants

Without Adoree’ Jackson and Dru Phillips, the Giants will move Shelley up to their gameday roster. Shelley has not played since last season, attending training camp with the Vikings but landing with the Giants shortly after not making Minnesota’s 53-man roster.

Jefferson played in one game this season as a gameday elevation, but this is his first time on a 53-man roster since the 2022 season. Jefferson had retired, spending the 2023 season as a Ravens scouting intern. At 32, he returned to play under Jim Harbaugh. The Chargers will be without Derwin James against the Chiefs due to a one-game suspension, with Jefferson set to serve as a depth piece in Week 4.

Bills Work Out Two Kickers

September 17th, 2024 at 10:01pm CST by Ely Allen

Bills kicker Tyler Bass was signed to an extension a year and a half ago, but Buffalo may be having a bit of buyer’s remorse. Some recent inaccuracies have made many question his standing as the Bills’ kicker of the future, though the team has claimed that they don’t have any intention to replace him. That tune may be changing as Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports that the Bills worked out kickers Anders Carlson and Cade York today.

Bass has been nothing if not consistent. In his first three seasons, Bass missed four field goals attempts in each regular season. He upped that to five misses in 2023. His rookie season saw him miss two field goals and an extra point attempt in the playoffs, and his second trip to the postseason the next year saw him miss two more extra point attempts. He cleaned it up with a perfect postseason in 2022, though he didn’t attempt a kick over 40 yards, but 2023 saw him miss three postseason field goal attempts, including one late in the team’s divisional round loss to the Chiefs.

Just over two weeks ago, Bills general manager Brandon Beane was telling the media that the team was not considering adding competition to the special teams room for Bass. Nonetheless, we had thoughts that any early struggles might lead to some interest in other options on the free agent market. Five days after watching Bass log his first miss of the season, in come Carlson and York.

As a sixth-round rookie last year for the Packers, Carlson likely doesn’t inspire confidence for an increase in accuracy. In 2023, Carlson missed six field goals and five extra points, and as a result, was waived before the start of this year. A fourth-round pick in 2022, York missed eight field goals in his rookie season and two extra points, as well, for the Browns. He started the season as the kicker for Washington but was waived after missing both of his only field goal attempts in Week 1.

It’s not quite clear why the Bills aren’t more interested in adding veteran competition like free agents Brandon McManus or Randy Bullock, instead opting for young, inaccurate legs, but what’s important to note is that they’re bringing in competition at all. The Bills might still have confidence in Bass moving forward, but at the very least, they’re bringing in some other names to light a fire under their current kicker.

Injured Reserve Return Tracker

September 17th, 2024 at 1:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

This offseason brought a change in how teams could construct their 53-man rosters while retaining flexibility with injured players. Clubs were permitted to attach return designations to two players (in total) placed on IR or an NFI list before setting their initial rosters.

In prior years, anyone placed on IR before a team set its initial 53-man roster could not be activated in-season. All August 27 IR- or NFI-return designations, however, already count against teams’ regular-season limit of eight. This will introduce more strategy for teams, who will be tasked with determining which players injured in-season will factor into activation puzzles as the year progresses.

All players designated for return on August 27 are eligible to be activated beginning in Week 5. The same holds true for players moved to IR before Week 1, though any player placed on IR after a team set its initial 53 has not been designated for return and therefore does not yet count toward a club’s eight-activation limit. Players who receive return designations beginning in Week 5 will be added to this list.

Here is how teams’ activation puzzles look in Week 6:

Arizona Cardinals

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 6

Atlanta Falcons

Designated for return from IR (August 27): 

Designated for return:

Activations remaining: 7

Baltimore Ravens

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Designated for return: 

Activations remaining: 7

Buffalo Bills

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Activations remaining: 6

Carolina Panthers

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 6

Chicago Bears

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 6

Cincinnati Bengals

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 5

Cleveland Browns

Designated for return from reserve/non-football injury list (August 27):

Designated for return from IR: 

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

Dallas Cowboys

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 7

Denver Broncos

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Designated for return: 

Activations remaining: 7

Detroit Lions

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 7

Green Bay Packers

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

  • DL Jonathan Ford (practice window opened Oct. 2)

Activations remaining: 7

Houston Texans

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Indianapolis Colts

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Activations remaining: 6

Jacksonville Jaguars

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Designated for return: 

Activations remaining: 6

Kansas City Chiefs

Designated for return from reserve/non-football illness list:

Activations remaining: 8

Las Vegas Raiders

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Activations remaining: 7

Los Angeles Chargers

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 7

Los Angeles Rams

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

  • OL K.T. Leveston

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Miami Dolphins

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 6

Minnesota Vikings

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Activations remaining: 6

New England Patriots

Designated for return from reserve/non-football illness list (August 27):

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

New Orleans Saints

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Activations remaining: 7

New York Giants

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 7

New York Jets

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 6

Philadelphia Eagles

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Activations remaining: 6

Pittsburgh Steelers

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

  • OL Dylan Cook

Eligible for activation:

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 6

San Francisco 49ers

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Eligible for activation: 

Eligible for activation from reserve/non-football injury list:

Activations remaining: 7

Seattle Seahawks

Activations remaining: 8

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 7

Tennessee Titans

Eligible for activation (August 27):

Activations remaining: 8

Washington Commanders

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

AFC Contract Details: Brown, Ramsey, Heyward, Carter, Bell

September 15th, 2024 at 9:50pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are some details on recent contracts reached around the NFL:

  • Spencer Brown, T (Bills): Four years, $72MM. Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 provided some contract details on Brown’s recent extension. The deal comes with a $6.4MM signing bonus and a $16MM option bonus that will pay out in 2025. An additional $7.1MM roster bonus will hit in 2026. The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia added the distinction that most of Brown’s $7.14MM base salary in 2026 will be vested in 2025.
  • Jalen Ramsey, CB (Dolphins): Three years, $72.3MM. Per OvertheCap.com, Ramsey’s new extension comes with $24.24MM guaranteed at signing. The deal also contains a guaranteed 2025 roster bonus of $4MM paid in March and a guaranteed 2025 option bonus of $18.98MM due in Week 1 of next year. He can receive option bonuses of $8.14MM and $8.84MM in 2026 and 2027, respectively, and roster bonuses of $2MM from 2026 to 2028.
  • Cameron Heyward, DT (Steelers): Two years, $29MM. While we had mentioned that most of Heyward’s guarantees came in the form of his signing bonus, OvertheCap.com shows us that the remaining guaranteed money comes from Heyward’s 2024 base salary of $1.3MM. Heyward can earn roster bonuses of $13.45MM in 2025 and $12.95MM in 2026.
  • Michael Carter II, CB (Jets): Three years, $30.75MM. ESPN’s Rich Cimini tells us that Carter’s deal comes with a $6MM signing bonus that is included in the contract’s $13MM of guaranteed money at signing. There’s an additional $5.4MM guaranteed for injury. The deal also contains a guaranteed 2025 option bonus of $4MM.
  • David Bell, WR (Browns): Two years, $2.44MM. Wilson tells us that Bell’s contract has base salaries of $1.11MM and $1.34MM. Bell can earn an additional $50K in a workout bonus in 2025.

Bills LB Terrel Bernard Suffers Pec Strain

September 14th, 2024 at 7:18pm CST by Adam La Rose

SEPTEMBER 14: When speaking about the injury, head coach Sean McDermott confirmed (via ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg) Bernard is facing a multi-week absence. A decision has yet to be made regarding an IR stint, however. As expected, McDermott added that Spector will be counted on as Bernard’s replacement moving forward, setting him up for a signficant workload over at least a short-term span.

SEPTEMBER 13: Terrel Bernard exited Buffalo’s win on Thursday night, and he is now set to miss multiple games. The third-year linebacker avoided the worst-case scenario, however.

Bernard’s pectoral injury has proven to be a strain rather than a full tear after further testing, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. As a result, the 25-year-old is facing a recovery timeline of roughly one month. While that represents positive news in one sense, it makes Bernard a candidate for injured reserve and leaves Buffalo’s linebacking corps even thinner for the time being.

Matt Milano suffered a biceps tear one month ago, sidelining him indefinitely. The All-Pro hopes to return at some point during the year, but being without him (especially after he missed much of 2023) constitutes a notable challenge for the Bills’ second level. Bernard was set to remain a key figure on defense after he logged a full-time starting role last year and collected 143 tackles. The former third-rounder will miss a minimum of four weeks if he is placed on IR, though.

2022 seventh-round selection Baylon Spector stepped in for Bernard on Thursday, and he collected 10 tackles. Spector totaled only 15 appearances during his first two seasons in the league, playing primarily on special teams. A major uptick in playing time could be in store for the Clemson product over the coming weeks with Bernard on the mend as the Bills sort out their remaining linebacker options.

The team also has 2023 third-rounder Dorian Williams in place; he started only two games as a rookie but has already matched that total this season. Williams has seen a 77% defensive snap share so far in 2024, a steep increase from his workload last year. With Milano (who was designated for return during roster cutdowns) and now Bernard out of the picture, Buffalo will rely more on Williams, Spector and the likes of Nicholas Morrow, Edefuan Ulofoshio and Joe Andreessen at the LB position.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/12/24

September 12th, 2024 at 6:16pm CST by Adam La Rose

Thursday’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Miami Dolphins

Harden, a seventh-round rookie, is dealing with a shin injury. Today’s move means he will be out for at least four weeks, further delaying his chance to make his regular season debut. Harden was inactive for the Browns’ Week 1 loss.

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